University Of Arkansas Athletics

Women's Golf: Razorbacks in the clubhouse with second round

BRYAN, Texas - The 11th-ranked University of Arkansas women's golf team posted one of the best rounds in the morning session with an eight-over 296 in second day action at the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf National Championship in Bryan, Texas, Thursday.

Arkansas shaved nine strokes off the first day total of 305 and is in the clubhouse with a 601. The afternoon flight has just teed off but the Razorbacks are eighth among the morning teams.

The final team and individual places as well as Friday's tee times won't be determined until all the rounds are final - around 7 p.m. tonight.

"Again I think we threw some shots away down the stretch but it was definitely better today," said Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor. "At a National Championship you have to play tidy, you have to clean it up and we need to just keep cleaning it up. If you get in the bunkers here you are dead and if we can just stay out of the bunkers, we can post a low number."

Conditions were again tough. It was extremely and unexpectedly windy for the morning session. The day was mostly cloudy and overcast and it began to sprinkle as the Razorbacks were coming off the par 72, 6,260 yard Traditions Golf Course.

"Conditions here are hard," Estes-Taylor said. "It's blowing 20-30 miles per hour and it's really hard to control our ball flight. We are going to get on the practice tee and work a little on hitting into the crosswind and making that work to our advantage."

Senior Kelli Shean was the lowest Razorback for the second day in a row. The Cape Town, South Africa, native posted a two-under 70, paring with Wednesday's 75 for 145.

Shean's front nine scorecard was a busy one. She opened with a bogey on two and picked up a pair of birdies thanks to clutch putts on four and seven. Shean bogeyed eight and nine turning at one over.

Shean moved back even with a birdie on the par four 12th hole and added two more on 15 and 16 moving to two-under.

"I think yesterday with the wind blowing and all of that you kind of learned how to handle the course," Shean said. "I had a couple little things go my way today. We have been aware of the wind and Shauna and Mike (Adams) have been telling us the wind is up there and to take advantage of it."

Freshman Emily Tubert is in the clubhouse with a one-over 73 to go with her first round 76 for 149. Tubert, like several of her teammates, battled with her putter today getting close but missing out on several birdie chances.

Perfect 1000 APR score - University of Arkansas Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas' nationally-ranked gymnastics program has been recognized by the NCAA as one of the top academic performing programs in the nation. The Razorbacks gymnastics team was honored on Tuesday with a public recognition award for its standing among the top 10 percent of gymnastics teams in the country in multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR). Arkansas is the first gymnastics program in the Southeastern Conference to receive a public recognition award since the program began in 2006.

"Our gymnastics program is a great example of student-athletes competing athletically at an extraordinary level, while also achieving in the classroom which will to our ultimate goal of graduation," Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. "We are proud of those student-athletes and the fact that the University of Arkansas is the first gymnastics program in the SEC to receive a public recognition award. Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches and staff on this remarkable accomplishment."

Arkansas scored a perfect 1,000 APR multi-year rate based on scores from the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years. The Razorbacks also scored a perfect 1,000 APR score for the 2009-10 academic year. APR statistics include a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship taking into account eligibility, retention and graduation. The APR benchmark multi-year rate is 925. Teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 977 to 1,000. The number of teams in some sports exceeded 10 percent depending on the number of perfect scores. The NCAA is announcing multi-year APR scores for all Division I teams on May 24.

"Our goals are to be successful in the classroom and in the gym, and we are pleased to be recognized by the NCAA for our academic success," co-head coach René Cook, who completed her doctorate in education this semester, says. "Last year we led the SEC in team grade point average and this year the NCAA recognizes us as a team of distinction, and we are excited about both accomplishments. We have emphasized academics and athletics since we began the program, and we take pride in how we represent the University of Arkansas in both areas."

The gymnastics team is the first Razorback squad to be honored since the women's golf team scored a perfect 1,000 in 2009. Women's golf also was also honored with a public recognition award in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

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